Is this Beijing building really haunted?

By Ke Feng, CNN

Updated 0420 GMT (1220 HKT) October 31, 2013

Chinese adventurers dig 'hunated house'9 photos

Building no. 81 – This locally famous "haunted house" is on one of the busiest streets in Beijing. Now that Halloween has rolled around, locals are flocking to the century-old building for seasonal thrills.

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Caution: This place is haunted. Maybe – This brave visitor entering the famed Chaoyangmen Inner Street building chooses to ignore the sign warning "there are ghosts" on the window to his right.

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Sound effect-equipped – Most of the cracked, aging wooden stairs in building no. 81 generate creepy noises when stepped on. The perfect accompaniment to an already eerie vibe.

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What phantom wouldn't want to live here? – With cob-webbed windows and abandoned furniture lying about, building no. 81 is the kind of place most ghosts would feel right at home.

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The ghosts of bureaucracy – Building no. 81 was built in 1910 as a language center and rest area. When the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, several administrative departments moved in and used the building for offices.

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Halloween's popularity grows in Beijing – Halloween's popularity is increasing in Beijing -- both for the Western tradition of dressing up for booze-filled parties and checking out supposedly haunted buildings.

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Macabre Halloween display are increasingly turning heads in China.

The building has grown in infamy. Beijing taxi drivers have no trouble finding it when you tell them you're looking for the haunted house on Chaoyangmen.

Numerous mentions online have made it a popular site for young adventurers.

"I came here to celebrate my birthday," said a middle school girl visiting the building last week. "Almost all of my friends have been here, and I thought it would be nice to come here for some fun, especially as Halloween is approaching."

With theme parks getting more expensive, more young people are opting to get a "free ride" in the city's old, broken buildings, ignoring 'Danger! Do not enter' signs in the front.

Next to the "danger" sign at No. 81, there's a more intriguing handwritten warning on a window pane: "There are ghosts."

Is the place even haunted?

Building no. 81 was built in 1910 to serve as a language center and rest area.

When the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, administrative departments moved in and used the building for offices.

Local resident Guo says that in the 2000s, the building was abandoned due to a lack of funding.

Over the last decade, it's deteriorated to its current state, giving the building an eerie edge that's led many to assume -- or hope -- that it's haunted.

Where do the ghost tales come from?

Various accounts are making the rounds, but the commonly accepted yarn has it that a number of people have unexpectedly died on the property, including workers, adventure-seekers and other innocents who for some reason or other made their way into the building.

Spooky as it all sounds, a recent Xinhua state-run news agency interview with local police attempted to clear up the rumors, saying no deaths were reported to have ever taken place in the building.

Meanwhile, the company that currently owns the building told Xinhua that its famously haunted space isn't actually haunted at all.

Ghosts or no ghosts, for young adventurers the place is still a spooky destination -- especially around Halloween.

"I heard the building is going to be demolished or renovated soon," said one student who recently visited the site. "I'm not sure if it's true, but I really wanted to take a look before it changes."

Not freaky enough for you? Other ghoulish options in the Chinese capital include a haunted walking tour or the Beijing ghosts tour.